Douglas Elliman CEO leaves real estate brokerage giant after investigation by company’s board Sexually charged work culture exposedAccording to a report.
Howard Lorber, chairman and CEO of parent company Vector Group, resigned as executive chairman of Douglas Elliman on Monday, ending a more than two-decade tenure at the helm of the $170 million realty firm that has built properties in New York, Florida and Have made significant footprints in. Southern California.
Douglas Elliman issued a press release indicating that Lorber, 76, had decided to retire. But The Wall Street Journal reported On Sunday, the board encouraged Lorber to step down.
Douglas Elliman also announced that Scott Durkin, president and CEO of the company’s brokerage business, was relieved of his duties on Friday.
Douglas Elliman’s workplace culture came under scrutiny earlier this year when two of its former star brokers, brothers Tal and Oren Alexander, were accused of sexual harassment. Since his start at the firm in 2008.
No reason for Durkin’s termination was given in the company’s SEC filing.
A representative for Douglas Elliman was not immediately available for comment.
“Mr. Durkin had no role in fostering the allegedly ‘sexually charged work culture’ at Douglas Elliman to which the NY Post story refers, nor did Mr. Durkin make any complaints regarding Alexander Brothers. There was never any negligence or delay in reporting. Or anyone else,” his attorney John Singer, a partner at Singer Deutsch, said in a statement.
“No reason for Mr. Durkin’s sudden separation was disclosed in the company’s SEC filings; However, suffice it to say that at all times Mr. Durkin performed his role as President and CEO of the Company with the utmost integrity, ethics, diligence and skill,” Singer said.
Douglas Elliman shares rose 10% on Monday, closing at $1.99.
In the wake of the allegations against the Alexander brothers, Elliman’s board formed a committee to investigate the company’s workplace. According to the Journal, an initial review conducted by Manhattan-based lawyer Marc Kasowitz was deemed inadequate because of his close relationship with Lorber.
“As a longtime litigation attorney at Douglas Elliman, our firm was preparing to defend the company against potential claims,” Kasowitz said in a statement to the Journal.
“Any suggestion that doing so would make us any less aggressive or effective in ascertaining the true facts because of our long-standing business and personal relationship with Mr. Lorber makes no sense and is absolutely inconsistent with the truth.” It’s the opposite.”
The post sought comment from the Alexander brothers’ lawyer.
The second investigation is reported to have uncovered allegations that go far beyond those made against the Alexander brothers, the Journal reports.
According to the report, another factor the board took into account when deciding the timing of Lorber’s departure was Elliman’s poor financial results.
At the end of 2021, Elliman had a market capitalization of $900 million. As of Monday, it was only $170 million – a drop of 81%.
The Alexander brothers, who left Douglas Elliman to start their own company, Official Partners, in 2022, have denied the claims.
Oren and his twin brother, Alon – both 37 – are accused of committing multiple acts of sexual misconduct, including rape, assault and harassment. His older brother Tal has also been named in a lawsuit accusing him of similar conduct.
Elon was never employed by Elliman. He most recently headed security for his brothers’ firm.
In June, two women – Kate Whitman and Rebecca Mandel – filed a civil lawsuit against Oren and Alon Alexander, accusing them of taking turns to rape them in two separate incidents in 2010 and 2012. First reported by The Real Deal.
Just days after the Real Deal report, another woman, Angelica Parker, filed a lawsuit, accusing Elon and Tal Alexander of raping her in their SoHo apartment in 2012 while Oren Alexander stood by and watched.
In July, a fourth woman, actor and comedian Renee Willett, filed a lawsuit alleging that Oren Alexander drugged and raped her in his Soho apartment in 2015.
Reality television broker Tracy Tutor, a top Elliman agent, told the Journal that Oren Alexander had spiked her drink. According to the Journal, he then took her to the bathroom, where another Elliman agent wandered in and pulled her away from him.
Jessica Cohen, another Elliman agent, told the New York Times After having drinks with Oren, Tal, and Alon Alexander at a 2014 cocktail party, someone put something in his drink. Cohen said she remained unconscious for several hours and was eventually rushed to the hospital.
According to the Times, Cohen recalled the allegation in a conversation with Lorber two years later.
“His employer has also clearly stated that no complaint was ever filed with Human Resources about the brothers,” Tal Alexander’s attorney, Deanna Paul, told the Journal.
Jim Ferraro, an attorney representing the Alexander brothers, told The Real Deal in June that his clients were “completely shocked.” Ferraro is no longer representing the brothers.
Improvement: An earlier version of this story was corrected to clarify that Tal Alexander was not named in the lawsuit filed by Kate Whitman and Rebecca Mandel against his brothers Oren and Elon, and 30 additional reports involving Oren and Elon Tal Alexander was not implicated in the incidents. Alone.
